Hate to Love?
by Firoxe
Summary: Princess Malrina and Prince Yaven have been at loggerheads for as long as they can remember. Both of them are engaged. To each other. Will the rash Mal and handsome Yaven put aside their differences and settle down? What will they do? Read to find out. Ma
1. Marriage?

Hate to Love

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

A/N: this is a new story. Pls tell me if you like it. Suggestions are welcome.

Princess Malrina, or more commonly known as Mal, ran down the steep steps of the tower. _What should I do? How could this have happened? _She thought. Occupied with her thoughts, she was not careful when going down, she slipped and tumbled down the roughly cut steps in the stone.

Luckily for her, it was already the last few steps so she was not hurt badly, only a few bruises here and there which accumulated to the many others that Mal had obtained because of her father, the King of Valendra, who hit her whenever she tried to sneak out of the palace. "A princess should stay in the palace, and not running about in the city", he would say. A little shocked, she lay on the floor for a few seconds before coming to her senses and getting up. Mal brushed her long blue skirt and headed towards the exit. Just as she was stepping out, a cloaked figure came out from behind the door. Startled by the sudden appearance of the stranger, the Princess stepped back hurriedly. The cloaked figure muttered a 'sorry' before disappearing up the same steps that she had been on a while ago.

Princess Malrina noticed this but was too disturbed to bother about what a stranger would be doing in the palace grounds. The most pressing problem was still there.

And the problem?

She had to marry him. _Him! Of all the men in this world, Father just had to betroth me to HIM!_ Mal thought angrily.

_The man that she had always hated. The man that we have been at loggerheads since young_.

_It was arranged since birth,_ argued her mind.

_Yeah, but so what? I don't like him, and he obviously doesn't like me back. And who are you, anyway? _Malrina retorted.

_Well, you can say that I'm part of you, only that I'm not really, _her mind explained.

_Huh?_

_Never mind._

_Fine._

_So, what are you going to do about it?_

_No idea._


	2. Jenna

Hate to Love

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: How do ya like it so far? No much action… more coming up soon…**

**A/N: and thanks to SmileyFacePerson who reviewed my story…**

Mal lay on her four-poster bed, staring at the ceiling, both eyes red, having cried herself to the last drop in her body. She felt thirsty from the excessive crying but was too lazy and tired to get out of her bed. She had been thinking, think about the one man that she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

"Mal!" Jenna called.

The princess sat up slowly and stared at her childhood friend with drowsy eyes. Lady Jenna, or Jen, was the daughter of Duke Alan and the both of them had been friends since young, playing together, studying together, they did practically everything together. Each time Jenna came, she would always go and find Princess Mal first. The 2 of them were the best of friends.

Both girls were tall and slim, and with a pretty face. Being the prettier and more powerful of the 2, Mal was constantly chased by young men who wanted her for her money, she deduced. The King was forced to let his daughter learn some un-armed fighting to protect herself from some rejected suitors who turned violent upon hearing that the Princess could not accept them.

"Jen?" she asked, surprised that Jenna was here, in her bedroom. Not that Jenna had not been in her bedroom before, but Mal expected her not at this time, when she was supposed to be in Egypt, studying about pyramids.

"Of course, who else did u think it was? Your FRIEND?" Jenna confirmed, emphasizing the 'friend'.

Mal kept silent and looked intently at the bed. She blushed and felt a pang of guilt hit her. Jenna had always liked Prince Yaven of Tortall. That was no wonder. Prince Yaven was strikingly handsome. Almost all the girls that Mal knew had a major crush on him. He was the 'prefect' gentleman in their eyes, gentle, kind, handsome, powerful, and rich. The princess of Valendra, however, did not like him at first glance and thought he was arrogant and selfish. She hated him.

"Mal, has something happened?" Jenna enquired, noticing that her long-time friend was silent, something that she did not do often.


	3. The Truth Hurts

Hate to Love

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: Don't expect me to update too often these days… my exams are here and I need to study… I'll probably update more often during the holidays… Now, on to the story.**

"Urm… well… ye-es. I'm… urm… be-betrothed to Yaven," came the stuttered reply. Mal chose honesty and did not want to lie to her friend.

Jen was speechless. "Wh- when?"

"Jen, I'm sorry, I know how much you like him, I didn't mean for this to happen, but, seriously Jen, you know how much I loathe him, right?"

"Then why did you do it?" Jenna was practically shouting now. She was very upset. Mal was starting to get frightened. In all their 16 years of friendship, Mal had never seen Jen so angry at her.

"It was arranged from birth, I had no choice. It's written in black and white, sealed with the marriage curse which will take effect when I'm 18, which is only 5 months away." The princess explained quickly, silently adding the last part.

"Do you blame me, Jen?" I asked, knowing the answer immediately.

Jen stayed silent. Then she looked up. "N-no, of course not. You're my friend, aren't you? It's not as if I was already with him, I wasn't," Jen said, a little shakily.

"Has it been announced? The wedding's on your birthday, right?" Jen asked.

Though she sounded cheerful, Mal could still tell that Jen still had not registered the fact that Mal would be marrying the man of her dreams in just a few months' time.

"No, it hasn't been announced, I only knew it today, Father and Mother are holding a ball soon and our engagement will be announced on that day." I replied.

Then, they went around the palace gardens admiring the flowers and smelling the cool, crisp air.


	4. His Decision

Hate to Love- chapter 4 His decision

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: Hi… my exams are almost over… and I've already got some of the chapters written, will be adding them soon.**

**A/N: some of the chapters may be written in POVs, but I'll tell ya when it is… so you don't really need to bother… Just read and review…**

**A/N: today's the start of my exams... so the next one will probably be upin abt 3 or 4 days...**

**A/N: i know... a lot of a/n's today, but just wanted to thank GreatMotherG and magequeen for reviewing, not to mention SmileyFacePerson for reviewing my past chapters. thanx and pls review...**

**The story was changed a little… it's not the original copy. Pls read again… thanx.**

**on to the story...**

Prince Yaven stormed into his bedroom. He too, like Princess Malrina, had just heard the news, and was enraged. He was a finely built knight of 18, and he captured many girls' hearts with his handsome face.

Following him, Danment went into the room.Danment Roualdinwas the son of Duke Dorian, cousin of King of Tortall.

"Seriously, Yaven, I don't know what you don't like about Princess Malrina. She's everything you would want as a wife. She's kind to the commoners, pretty and you 2 even have the same hobbies," Danment asked.

"Dan, I know you have bad taste, but surely not that bad. She's not as good as you think, I don't even like her," Yaven critized.

"Why? What do you not like about her?" Danment probed.

"Dan, she's rude and unsociable, not to mention arrogant. If you like her so much, _you _can marry her."

"If only i could, but I'm not good enough for her," he muttered, "But, Yaven, you've only seen her twice, how can you be so sure?" he said and left the room. _Surely a princess would not be that bad._

"Then how can YOU be so sure she's changed?" he murmured, too late for Danment to hear.

Yaven lay on his bed, thinking about what he could do to avoid this unwanted marriage. His gift could not overcome the curse, nor could any other's gift. The curse would be activated the day the bride turns 18 and they have their first kiss. Even then, both parties would have to be close together for the curse to continue. Since Princess Malrina would be coming to his palace for the wedding, then if Yaven was not here when she came, they would not get married.

_But it's irresponsible, doing this, it's like marrying someone then leaving her the next day,_ Yaven's mind argued.

_It's the only thing I can do if I want to save ourselves, _he thought angrily. _Who are you, anyway?_

_You. I'm part of you. Never mind, I'm tired of explaining, _came the reply.

_What do you mean, you're tired of explaining? You've explained it to others before? _Yaven probed.

_Never you mind._

_That's it, I've decided._ Yaven thought.

**A/N: Please review… thanx…**


	5. Yaven's Escape

Hate to Love- chap 5 Yaven's escape

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N:The exams are almost over...I'll be updating more soon. Now, on to the story.**

Once Jen had left, Mal quickly went back to her room to carry out her plan. She had thought of a plan when walking in the garden with Jen. She would leave the palace. She could never spend the rest of her life with someone whom she hated.

Taking out a backpack, Mal stuffed some clothes in it from the trunk. She did not pack any dresses, as she thought that she would not use them since she was leaving. Little did she know, miles away, a prince was thinking the same thing.

**A/N: the prince is NOT thinking about the dresses. But something else. Ok?**

Yaven opened his door. The coast was clear. Quickly he stepped out of the room, carrying his bag along. He was dressed casually as he did not want to attract attention, at least, not when your're trying to escape.

_Lucky my room is on the 2nd floor, so I needn't go down so many floors and risk being caught, _the runaway prince thought.

The prince met neither guards nor any of the servants. He got out easily. The present King of Tortall did not stress so much on guards as they had the backing of the powerful Valendra, which was well-known as the most powerful country in the region and one would think twice before attacking Valendra.

Furthermore, the 'PeaceMaker', King Jaysen did not like using violence to overcome problems between countries and people alike. He preferred to be kind and fair. He gave everyone a second chance. Befroe sending his army troops to war, he would first request for a treaty. Because of this, most countries respected him. Everyone had thought it was wierd that the influential Valendra did not attack Tortall.But even Prince Yaven was taught the 'King Jaysen way', as some called it, but still, he had to learn how to fight. However, he was taught to be fair and to give others a chance before he was given the chance to touch a weapon that could kill.

Once he got out into the grounds, Yaven headed straight to the stables. "Come, Hearty, come," he called softly as he opened the stable door.

A beautiful horse came into view. He was chestnut- colored, with a swishing mane down his back. Hearty neighed softly, glad to see his master again. Yaven led him out of the palace grounds and got on his horse. He rided towards the gate.

"I have to go out for a while, Father has granted me permission, open the gate," Yaven commanded the guards. They looked at him and opened the gate, not daring to disobey the prince, since he had the King's permission. Also, the guards trusted their Prince. They did not think that the Prince would disobey his father. Yaven had to lie in order to get out of the palace. Otherwise, the guards would not let him out.

He was out. He was free. Finally. He would not have to marry that Princess Malrina.

_Now I have to decide where to go. I can't stay in the city, Father will find me soon enough. I suppose the only place where Father won't find me is Valendra. _The prince thought.

**A/N: Pls review…**

**A/N: This was a bit short, I know, but I just had to end it here. I know I'm always giving u cliffies, but that's just the fun. **

**A/N: I'll most probably update every 3-5 days. The most I'll go is 1 week. OK? So, pls don't keep asking me to update.**


	6. Details

Hate to love- details.

**A/N: hey ppl… this is not a chapter… it's just sorta an author's note, telling you abt the info that I missed out in the other chapters… This is about the curse and abt the best friends of the royalty… thanx to SmileyFacePerson who reminded me. And pls keep in mind, I'm making the curse up. It's not in Tamora Pierce's books… ok?**

Anyway, the curse is something like a spell, a VERY strong spell. Well… you all know that… anyway, Defiance against the spell once it's activated is death. These spells were commonly used in the past among parents when they wanted their children to marry well… 'well', as in someone rich. Yes, ppl were mercenary those days. Well… they just wanted their child to live a good life, so we can't really blame them. The curse is cast upon the parents' risk. After casting the spell, their gift will be at risk and they may lose their gift, which is very important for healers, sorcerers, and some warriors. If deprived of each other, WHEN the curse is activated, they will not associate with others and let themselves die of starvation, depression, or what ever they die of. I can't think of anymore reasons. So. If the curse is NOT activated, then they will NOT die even if deprived. Once the curse is activated, both parties are bound to each other FOREVER. Some live together just to escape the curse, and some fall in love after the curse. If one of them kills themselves, as in suicide, the other will also die. But, if they're killed, as in murder or a fatal accident, the other party still lives, but is not allowed to remarry. They are to remain single for the rest of their lives. So… you understand the curse now? Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, I'll be glad to ans them.

**A/N: Now, on to the best friends of the 2 royalty.**

You know their best friends are Jenna and Danment, right? So, since prince Yaven and princess Malrina are royalty, a lot of people would want to be their friends, right? Yes. But jenna and danment are not these type of ppl. Janne is a friend of the court, in the same class as malrina when she goes for the lessons. That's how they 'met' each other, as in know each other. Jenna's father, Duke Alan, is the right-hand man of King of Valendra, the name I will tell you in later chapters, so jenna comes to the palace quite often.

Danment, on the other hand, is the COUSIN of prince yaven. His mother, is the cousin of King Jaysen, his father is his cousin- in- law. Sorry I didn't mention this in earlier chapters, I only wrote that he was the King's cousin, not cousin- in- law, well, In this story, Duke Dorian is the cousin- in- law of King Jaysen. Ok?

The both of them were childhood friends, much like jenna and Mal, but in the duration in which they had to earn their knight shield.

**A/N: Things to highlight first. Jenna, Mal, Yaven and Danment all HAVE the gift. Jen's limegreen, Mal's orange, like Duke Roger in the tamora pierce book, Yaven's purple and Danment's blue. As for the kings and queen's, I'll explain later, but they also HAVE the gift.**


	7. Leaving

Hate to Love- chapter 6 another escape

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: Glad to hear that some of you are liking my story. Thanks. I'll try to update more often.**

**A/N: sorry i took so long to update, i had a writer's block... pls review...**

Mal took some clothes from the trunk that she was supposed to bring to Tortall, stuffed it into a bag,took some money and left. Shewould leave with her family for Tortallsoon, and she rather she left eariler. Her parents were accompaning her to Tortall the next week, as the route to Tortall was very long. But the plans may change any time.

Her escape was not as easy as Yaven's as her room was on the 4th floor, and the King made it a habit to have many guards patrolling the palace grounds to search for strangers. Strangely enough, the stranger that Mal bumped into that day was not found when she told the guards about him.

After narrowly avoiding 4 guards and 2 servants, Mal finally reached the stables. She called out for her horse, Golden, who was a dull shade of gold. Golden was also a beautiful horse, and was one of the best horses in the country. Mal was to learn riding because the Queen had ask for her to learn the skill. The King had disagreed at first and said that it was 'unladyllike', but the King soon agreed after he was convinced. Mal felt grateful to her mother for that.

The princess usually snuck through a hole in the walls which were to be for the small animals that lived in the palace to escape if there was a war. The wildmage, Hayaine Alderlye, had requested for a place where the animals would be able to escape from and the King, seeing that the wildmage was indispensable to the country, granted her request.

Mal did not mind the fact that the hole was for animals and used it constantly, being caught sometimes when she arrived back late or when her parents discovered that she was missing. She would always be lectured and sometimes beaten.

But seeing that Golden was no small animal, Mal had to use the main gate to get out of the palace. "Guards," she commanded, getting their attention.

"Your Highness," they greeted in unison.

"Open the gates, I have to go into the city for a while," she said.

A guard, supposedly the chief,stepped up and asked, "Pardon me, Princess Malrina, but does Your Highness have His Majesty's permission?"

"Of course," Mal lied. She held up the piece of wood which confirmed that the King had allowed her to go out of the palace. It was in actual fact an imitation. Mal had carved it herself. It was a carelessly done as Mal had not had much experience with carving.

The guard took the piece of wood and looked closely. _Please don't find out, please don't. _Mal begged in her head. She tried to not show her anxiety. Finally, the guard returned it, having found no mistakes with it. _He must not have seen it very often, ._Mal thought, relieved.

"Open the gates," he called.

Once out of the palace grounds, Mal rejoiced mentally. She daren't act crazy in front of the palace guards for fear of them getting suspicious and alerting the King.

_Now, where should I go? I'm practically homeless out in the city._ Mal thought.

_Why don't you go find your betrothed? _Her mind asked.

_Oh, it's you again, are you crazy? You want me to go and find him? As if I won't be seeing enough of him if I marry him! _

_No, no… I meant that you should go to his country. You weren't planning on staying here, were you? You'll be found soon! Your father will never find you there! _Her mind reasoned.

Mal agreed. So, she set off for Tortall immediately.

Little did she know, something big was going to happen on the way to Tortall. 


	8. The Journey

Hate to Love- chapter 7 the journey

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: I appreciate those ppl who made time to review my story. Sorry for not updating as often as I used to. I'll be writing the next one after I upload this. For those who did not like my storyline, pls tell me where I have gone wrong and if possible, the ways that I can improve on it.**

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I had a camp in school this week and exams just finished.So i could only get the computer until now.Anyway... on to the story... **

Yaven rode far and long, only stopping for the night or to eat and drink. But, even then, he stopped for only a while, or just a few hours of sleep, for fear of being caught. He did not want to marry a woman whom he had hated since birth.

_I could NEVER learn to tolerate HER, let alone LIKE her_, he often thought these days, shaking his head in despair.

"I don't get it. There would be so many others wiling to take _my_ place, so why do _I _have to wed her?" He asked no one in particular.

In the morning, Yaven rode, stopping occasionally for a drink of water. In the night, he slept for a few hours, and before daybreak, he was already off. After a week of journeying and seeing no one, Yaven began to worry. He knew that the road to Valendra was secluded, but he knew that it was not so secluded that he would see no one on the road for 7 days in a row. Valendra and Tortall were serparated by a huge mountain called 'Mount Tysen' and so far, Yaven hadn't seen it at all.

Furthermore, there was another road that was similar to the route to Valendra. That road turned a whole round around Tortall and led back to the Thief's Cave. (A/N: It's the name of the inn, ok? How ya getting along?) Both roads looked alike and the latter was more deserted than the one leading to Valendra.

Yaven did not want to waste 7 days of his time just to arrive back into the hands of his parents and be forced to wed the Princess.

Just as Yaven was about to turn back, he spotted a figure in the distance. He squited his eyes and leant forward. The figure looked like a human. Yaven was overjoyed. He hurriedly pushed Hearty forward.

"Hey! Wait up!" he called.

The figure paused to look back. Then he leant against the tree and waited for Yaven. "Hello! Are you going to Valendra?" Yaven asked once he got off Hearty.

"Valendra? Why would I go there? I'm heading to Tortall, are you going to Valendra?" he replied insolently, not recognizing the Prince in his casual clothes and mistaking him for a commoner.

_Oh, shit. I wasted a week._ The Prince thought upon hearing that. _How could I have mistaken the 2 roads?_

The commoner, seeing the Prince's facial expression, asked, "Are you going to Valendra? There's a shortcut, ya know," Yaven brightened up at the mention of a shortcut.

"Really? Where? Can you show me?" Yaven asked, a bit over-enthusiastically.

"Whoa, calm down. What's your name?"

"Ya- Melvin. Melvin Meendi, nice to meet you," Yaven stuttered, hurriedly finding a name to replace his real name and stuck his hand out. He ould not let others find out his real name, his name was unique and thus, would be recognized soon.

"Derric. Derric Hangnimen. Pleasure," he introduced and took the hand offered to him.

"Well, hello, Derric. Urm… not to be rude, but could you show me the way to the shortcut, 'cause I'm in a bit of a hurry," Yaven pushed.

"Oh, sure, it's this way. Follow me." He said.

**A/N: Ppl... Some ppl requested for longer chapters. If you want, I can combine Yaven's and Mal's P.O.Vs together to make the chapter longer. But, of course, the time I will update will increase, which means, I'll take longer to update. Review your opinions and tell me if you want the combined one or individual one. I'll go by the majority.**


	9. Mount Tysen

Hate to Love- chapter 8 Mount Tysen

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: hey ppl! The hols are coming soon! I'll be able to update more too! Rejoice!**

**A/N: From now on, word in_ italics_ mean that it is the thoughts of the person that I'm writing about. Ok?**

**A/N: ppl, sry for not updating for so long... i was stopped from using the computer by my parents... sry... i'll try to update more during the hols... ok? **

**on to the story...**

Mal stood in front of the mountain, staring blankly at it. Mount Tysen was the tallest mountain in the region. The submit reached past 25,000 feet. Most of the mountaineers who were inexperienced tried to climb the gigantic mountain and ended up ever returning. Even in experienced mountaineers, few managed to come back in one piece.

_I'll never be able to cross this_.

_Sure you can, Golden's a fine horse, one of the finest steeds, in fact._

_No, I meant that _I'll _not survive past this mountain. Look at it. There must be _thousands_ of caves in there._

_No, silly. You aren't going to cross the top of the mountain to get across. You're going to walk along the base of the mountain._

_Really? Oh, I didn't know that. I'm so unknowledgeable._

_Yeah, didn't ya know?_

_hmph!_

Mal had already been on the road for 7 days. She only dared to set off at night, in the dark, where she would not be spotted. So far, she had seen no soldiers coming after her, so she assumed that her parents thought that she was still in the city and were still searching for her.

It was already late into the night. Mal had slept in the day so she was not tired. She mounted Golden and set off.

"Golden," Mal murmured, after riding for what seemed like days when it was only a few hours. The sun was beginning to rise.

The horse neighed softly in response.

"Do you feel tired?" she asked softly. Mal often talked to her horse. It was not uncommon. Horse and rider were friends. Even closer than Mal and Jen. The King, Queen, adn the wildmage allsaid that it was important to have a close relationship with their horse and trust it.

Golden shook her mane lightly, careful not to hit Mal, indicating that she wasn't tired.

_Hayaine has done an excellent job in teaching the animals our signs and words._

_Of course, she lives up to her name as the 'wildmage', doesn't she?_

_yeah._

Golden and Mal continued up the mountain along the road made specially for the passer-bys who wanted to go to and from Valendra and Tortall.

After another 3 hours of riding, Mal could sense that Golden was feeling tired and wanted her to rest. Noticing a cave not far, she guided Golden to it. Upon reaching the cave, Golden sat down after Mal had dismounted her.

_Well, Golden sure deserves the rest. She has rode far. I wonder why Father still hasn't sent soldiers after me._

_Maybe he doesn't want to attract attention that the Princess, soon-to-be bride of the Prince of Tortall has escaped._

_Why do you ALWAYS have the answer to my questions?_

_Hmmm… maybe it's because I'm smart?_

_Oh, yeah, right…_

Mal took a drink of water and fell into a deep sleep, which lasted still late afternoon. She was very tired after the long ride, even though she only sat on Golden throughout the journey.


	10. Back On Track

Hate to Love- chapter 9 Back on track

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: ppl, sorry for taking so long to update, but the teachers gave alot of assignments and i had to complete them and i also had to get my next years' textbooks. so, once again, sorry.**

Yaven walked alongside his horse, Hearty. He could feel that the horse was already feeling tired and did not want to tire it more by riding it. Yaven knew better than to tire his horse when danger was looming everywhere.

Even though Tortall did not stress so much on violence, the King still saw the need to maintain a good relationship between rider and horse.

With the help of Derric, Yaven was now on the road to Valendra. Now he tried his best to keep on the move as long as he could, but there were times when both he and Hearty needed to rest. He had wasted a week on another road, so he needed to spend more time traveling.

He was not as near to the place he would be if he did not take the wrong route, but he would reach soon.

Yaven felt thirsty but there was no stream or spring in sight. Hearty whined. He knew Hearty was thirsty too.

Suddenly, Yaven noticed a small spring by a huge rock. Full of energy at the thought of water, he ran to the spring. Gulping down mouthful after mouthful of water, Yaven thanked Mithros. (is it the correct spelling?)

After spending about 15 minutes beside the lake drinking and resting, Yaven made to set off.

_A mile more to Mt Tysen. Only 1 mile more. _

_Yes. Only a mile more and you'll be free. That mountain's so _huge_ they'll probably never find you. _

_Yeah, you're right. _

_Of course I'm right, since when was I wrong? _

_Whatever. _

A/N: sorry this chapter is so short. The next few will be longer. It will be updated soon. Probably tmr. Ok? Thanx to those who have reviewed my story.

A/N: the combined series will be in chapter 11 since i had already done chapter 8 and 9 when i asked for opinions on whether it will be combined or individual. yeah, and chapter 10 did not seem appropriate, but its still a combined chapter.

A/N: Tortall Princess: the stranger's indentity will be revealed soon. sry for taking so long to answer ur review.

A/N: wow! that's a lot of author's notes! anyway, just to tell u, the next chapter will be done in the palace.


	11. At the Palaces

Hate to Love- chapter 10 At The Palace

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: This chapter is not done in Yaven's nor Mal's P.O.V. it's done at the palace, as you can derive from the title.**

Mal's palace

"Mithros! Where on earth can she go? She's all alone! It's been a week since she left! Could something have happened to her?" Queen Alexi paced the floor of her bedchamber anxiously.

"I shouldn't have let Mal learn riding! It's my fault! Tortall expects us in about 2 months' time, which still gives us a bit of time to find her. Calm down, 'Lex, you're making me nervous," King Tristen of Tynem said.

"no, no, its my fault. I was the one who wanted her to learn to ride,"

"'Lex, take it this way, if you didn't convince me to let Mal learn to ride, she would be all alone out there, without even a horse to help her," he coaxed.

"but you said-"

"nevermind what I said, calm down, get some sleep. I'll be in the study if you need me. I've got some things to take care of," the King carried his queen to the bed, gave her a peck on the cheek and left the room.

_Where are you, Mal? Do you know that we need you here? Your mother's going crazy over your disappearance. And so are the servants, _he added after seeing a distraught servant rushing past him, wiping tears away.

Yaven's Palace

"Your Majesty" the guard greeted.

"yes? Have you found him?" questioned King Jaysen.

"No, your Majesty, we have searched the city and the nearby places and found no sign of His Highness," was his reply.

"Mithros, I should have known Yaven would not stay still, I should have known! Now he'd be too far to find. When the King and Queen of Valendra come 2 months later, who are we going to present to them as a son-in-law?" King Jaysen said, getting anxious.

"Jaysen, calm down. We still have 2 months to find Yaven. He knows that we can't afford to offend Valendra, he'll come back," Queen Daserie tried to calm the King down.

"of course we can't afford to offend Valendra! Valendra can easily defeat us if they go to war if they think that we think that the Princess is not good enough for Yaven!" the King had lost his temper by now.

"well, Yaven _doesn't_ want to marry Princess Malrina," Daserie muttered under her breath.

"what did you say, my queen!" Jaysen was enraged.

The queen shaked her head repeatedly and said, "I think you'd better go get some rest, Jaysen, you of all people cannot afford to get sick, after all, you still have the whole country to govern and you have more work now that Yaven left."

The King nodded and with a wave of her hand, the Queen dismissed the guards and officials present in the room.

A/N: I know this chapter isn't very long, sorry. Pls review… thanx!


	12. Leaving the Cave

Hate to Love- chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

Mal awoke as the sun set. It was already around 6 in the evening. Feeling both thirsty and hungry, Mal stood up and rummaged in her backpack for some food and water.

Golden stirred and opened one eye. The runaway Princess smiled at her friend and Golden woke. Mal went over to Golden and put the bottle to Golden's lips. She knew the horse was thirsty and hungry too, like her. Horse and rider had not eaten for almost a day.

"I'll go and fine some fruits for us to eat, since there's none in the bag," Mal whispered to her horse.

Golden neighed softly in acknowledgement.

A rush of cold air greeted her as she emerged from the cave. Though the cave wasn't very high up the mountain, it was almost winter and the weather was getting cold.

Walking away from the cave, she found some fruits nearby and was glad as she did not want to stray too far away from the cave. She didn't know who else was on the mountain too.

Clutching a bundle of wild fruits, Mal headed back to the cave. Golden was up and about, waiting patiently for Mal's return.

Yaven climbed. And climbed. After a few hours of climbing, Yaven found a nice cave that would do for his stay that day.

Taking out his bottle, Yaven drank deeply. He was thirsty. Hearty had found some water on the way up and drank it.

"I'll go find some food for us to eat, stay here and guard our stuff," Yaven whispered to Hearty.

Hearty neighed in acknowledgement and stood up. He trotted over to the cave entrance and stood there. The stern look on its face was enough to make the hungry and tired Yaven laugh.

Horses in Tortall were trained to double up as guards too. They had gone through tough training with their owners to look after their belongings.

Yaven gave Hearty a pat on his head as he passed by the huge animal to get out of the cave. Hearty neighed and licked his arm as a way of saying, Be Safe. The young prince smiled and left.

**A/N: I'm sorry for ending it here, but my friends specifically requested that my chapters be short. I'll upload the next one shortly. Thanx!**


	13. Meeting Each Other

Hate to Love- chapter 12

Meeting each other

**Disclaimer: Some characters that you recognize aren't mine, they belong to tamora pierce, those that u don't recognize, they belong to me.**

**A/N: the length of each character's view is quite short for this chapter, but I will put up 2 or 3 (if I have time) views of it. Ok? **

The princess trudged through the snow, shivering more by every minute she spent outside in the cold. She did not have a strong immunity system since young and got sick easily.

_I better not get sick this time, I didn't bring the medicine. Mithros, help me. Don't let me fall ill._

As the strong and cutting wind blew, Mal sneezed. And sneezed.

In the distance, Yaven heard the sneezes.

_Who could it be? Mithros, it had better not be someone from Tortall who recognizes me._

Then, the sneeze came again.

_I had better go check it out, before whoever that is finds _ME_ out!_

So, Yaven stealthily crept towards the source of the sneezes, and peeked his head over a snow-covered rock.

_Oh, it's a girl. What's a girl doing on the mountain in the middle of winter?_** (A/N: It is NOT the middle of winter, just an expression that Yaven's using)**

As he got up to leave, Yaven brushed against a rock and half-yelped as he fell onto the think and limb-numbing snow.

Malrina heard the yelp that Yaven gave out and immediately spun around, scrutinizing the environment. "who's that? She called.

Yaven decided to make him known since the mystery girl already knew that he was there. He stood up unsteadily on his feet and tried to balance himself. It was not easy to get up on snow, snow which was cold enough to numb your fingers.

Malrina watched unbelievingly as a man stood up slowly. She had not really expected a real person here, in the mountains when winter was quickly approaching. For a while, she stared. She stared at the stranger's blue eyes. Eyes that mesmerized her.

Yaven too stared at the new lady's face. The shocked look on her face made her look prettier with bigger eyes.

_She has beautiful eyes. Hazel eyes._

For moments, time was frozen as blue eyes met hazels and their gaze held.

Then, Malrina, remembering her manners, broke away shyly and looked at the ground.

"Who… who… are you?" she stuttered. She thought she had seen the man blush before she looked down and smiled lightly.

Yaven blushed when she looked away. Luckily, the bitter cold had made both faces bright pink, so the blush was not that noticeable.

"err… I'm.. errr… Melvin. Yeah, Melvin Meendi. Nice to meet you," he introduced, suddenly remembering the fake name that he told Derric Hangnimen.

"Oh, nice to meet you too, I'm Jasmina Terning," Mal said proudly, glad that she had thought to think of a fake name to cover her real identity when others asked.

**A/N: I think I should stop here now, is that a cliffy? I'm not sure, oh wells… I suppose the next one will be up soon! REVIEW!**


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